OSU's untested offense faces a defense ranked dead last

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 26, 2007 at 8:04 PM

Schoolyard bullies against lesser opponents, Ohio State’s offense has yet to be tested against someone capable of fighting back. Which might be the reason why Jim Tressel is restrained in his praise of the Buckeyes’ surprisingly prolific offense.

Todd Porter

Schoolyard bullies against lesser opponents, Ohio State’s offense has yet to be tested against someone capable of fighting back. Which might be the reason why Jim Tressel is restrained in his praise of the Buckeyes’ surprisingly prolific offense.

The young Ohio State offense has tuned up against defenses ranked in the bottom half of the country. Minnesota, with one win, a new head coach and, oh so many headaches defensively, isn’t just ranked in the bottom half.

The Golden Gophers are dead last. They’re a marshmallow in a campfire this early in the Big Ten season.

Minnesota is giving up nearly 40 points a game and close to 550 yards in offense. Only Tressel, who could find use in a wart, could find optimism in the Gophers defense.

“This past weekend ... they gave away 14 points on returns,” Tressel said. “Sometimes the defense takes an unfair hit on those kinds of things. Early on, they just got hit with some blitz cuts.”

That’s a lot of blitz cuts. More like gaping wounds. The Gophers have been slashed for 154 points in four games against two Mid-American Conference team, Florida Atlantic and Purdue.

Tressel isn’t ready to make his offense seem tried and tested. The best defense quarterback Todd Boeckman has faced might’ve been Youngstown State.

Boeckman has played his best the last six quarters. In the second half of a 33-14 win at Washington, the 23-year-old junior played with more confidence. An audible that turned into a long touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie seems to have been the turning point for Boeckman and his teammates.

“When he made that — not just recognizing, but also the throw — that was big,” running back Chris Wells said. “We already had confidence in Todd’s ability and leadership. All that did was make it grow.”

Tressel acknowledged Boeckman’s growth, but he also tempered his enthusiasm. Half of Ohio State’s 24 scoring drives have been of 60 yards or less. Six of those started inside the opponents’ 25.

“Special teams have turned over a couple of balls for us, and this past weekend, special teams and our defense gave us short fields to work on,” Tressel said. “It’s a little bit easier to score points and be consistent when you have such a short field.”

Last year, Heisman Trophy quarterback Troy Smith had seven long (30 yards or more) TD passes. Boeckman, who was praised by receiver Brian Hartline for throwing the best deep ball he’s ever seen, already has six.

“There is something different about his ball,” Hartline said. “When he needs to throw it in there, when he needs to thread a needle so to speak, he does. But when he needs to put touch on it, he can do that, too. Either way, both balls feel soft when they hit our hands.”

Tressel wants to see more. Last week’s 58-point explosion lit up the Ohio Stadium scoreboard as never before under Tressel.

“When the defense scored a touchdown and the special teams blocks a punt have you get the ball at the 2, that allows the score to creep up higher than may be normal,” Tressel said. “We’re making some progress. It’s a week-by-week situation. There’s more of an understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish than five weeks ago in the preseason.”

While Minnesota’s defense may not be a test, the trip should be. Visiting teams don’t normally pull out easy primetime wins in the Big Ten.

This is the first of back-to-back night road games. A third against Penn State awaits later in October.

The atmosphere, more so than the opposing defense, may be the toughest test yet for Boeckman, who is 10th in the nation in pass efficiency.

“Todd ... has got a ways to go, which he knows,” Tressel said, “and he’s willing to work on it.”